LEBANON, Ill. – For the first time this season, 40 minutes was not enough to decide the winner. It took 15 extra minutes of basketball to decide the winner between the Bearcats and the Illinois – Springfield Prairie Stars on Saturday, February 10th. McKendree went 10-for-12 in the final 47 seconds of the third overtime to pull out the 121-116 victory. They improved to 13-9 (7-8 GLVC) and jumped into the 8th seed in the GLVC's Point-Rating System.
This was the first triple overtime game since joining NCAA Division II for the Bearcats. Not only was is a back-and-forth battle, there was also a special performance by Milos Vicentic. He became the first Bearcat to score 40-plus points since Bryson Bultman on February 20, 2021. The 41 points by Vicentic is the highest individual game scoring performance in the GLVC this season and the 21st 40-plus point game in Division II.
The game saw 21 different lead changes and 19 ties as neither team led by more than 11 throughout the contest.
Supporting Vicentic in the offense was Caleb Zurliene who posted a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Zurliene went 13-of-14 from the free throw line. Kevin Stein joined the group with 17 points on an efficient 5-of-8 from the field. Hayden Meakes added 12 points off the bench for the Bearcats. In 29 minutes of action off the bench, Malcolm Davis had 8 points, but he had 5 huge offensive rebounds as McKendree won the offensive board battle at 12-10.
The Bearcats shot 37-of-80 from the field for 46.3%. More impressively, they went 33-of-41 from the free throw line for 80.5%.
McKendree hits the road next week as they travel to Southwest Baptist University on Thursday, February 15th with tip scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
